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n extensive renovation project, carried out by owners and architect, updated this romantic period villa in Munich, Bavaria. The villa was built in 1902, when this South Munich neighbourhood was on the outskirts of the city and throughout the years, several conversions had completely torn apart its original charm. Its three floors had been split into apartments, which, had in turn, been divided into smaller and larger rooms. However, the arrival of our family of six, brought back the elegant appearance of this building, also adding the best in contemporary design.

The living room with streamlined contemporary sofas, as seen from the hearth. French windows open onto the new garden terrace.

Four kids need a lot of space and their parents need some peace and quiet, so really the best thing was ffor each of them is to have their own floor. And simple logic guided the internal division of this large family home. Reception rooms on the ground floor: a large L-shaped living room with hearth and family kitchen, which opens onto a breakfast room. Space for parents and guests on the first floor and the kids’ kingdom on the top floor. On buying their new home, our couple agreed that the only possible way for everyone to get along, was if they all had their own separate room.

The hearth with bookcase (by S+) and two sofas, so there’s enough space for the entire family (left-hand side). The breakfast room, which opens up onto the kitchen (right-hand side). On one side of the hallway, one metre-deep storage separates a downstairs WC from a cloakroom.

Architect Thomas Unterlandstättner faced the challenge of combining the building’s historical character with the functional needs of a modern family of six. In fact, the underlying principle was to add visible modern components, which would still be sensitive to the villa’s historic character. The interior design was overseen by the team at Designfunktion, who also followed this concept: classic shapes, simple silhouettes and only small amount of different colours and material for a simple and natural type of elegance.

From the entrance to the top floor, the attention to detail is apparent in every single room. At the entrance, the original timber-framed bow window. Functional bespoke furniture: storage space for everyone in the L-shaped bench. On the top floor, in the kids’ room: built-in storage makes the most of the entire space upto the rafters. At the end of the staircase, a hideaway to play, lit by skylights (Velux).

There’s a new large terrace outside the living room. In this way, the whole family can enjoy their small garden under the shade of old-growth trees. In this hundred-year-old villa, the old gloomy pokey rooms have been converted into modern free-flowing spaces filled with light. Finally, everyone has enough space. Furthermore, our couple is radiant and enthusiastic of the harmony between old and new, which architect and decorators have worked painstakingly to achieve.